Niall Quinn has branded Darron Gibson a ‘silly lad’ for his drunken outburst about his team-mates but has backed him to recover and star for Sunderland in the Championship.

Gibson was drunk in a hotel after a 5-0 friendly defeat to Celtic and was filmed calling Sunderland ‘f****** s**t’ and accused team-mates Jeremain Lens, Lamine Kone and Wahbi Khazri of not caring about the club.

The Republic of Ireland international was punished by the club internally last week and has apologised to all the relevant parties.

And Black Cats legend Quinn said Gibson should’ve handled the situation differently and believes it is a shame he hasn’t shown his abilities so far on Wearside

“He’s been a bit of a silly lad to do what he’s done. If you wanted to go public on it you do it after training, not in the pub after you’ve been hammered 5-0.,” Quinn told the Irish Independent.

“There is very little sympathy out there for him and it’s a shame because I like Darron.

Niall Quinn (Image: Getty Images)

“I have very fond memories of Darron because when I was chairman of Sunderland, Man Utd needed to beat Hull to keep us up and Darron Gibson put one in from 35 yards so Sunderland fans should remember that every time they give him stick.

“He’s had his injuries and it has been stop-start for him for a long time so this is another setback but I think the quicker he gets on the pitch and gets a goal or something that re-evaluates his whole Sunderland being, that will be great for him.”

Gibson was an unused substitute in Friday’s 1-1 draw against Derby County.

The Black Cats’ performance was widely praised and Quinn believes it shows that the incident has already forgotten about.

“I point back to the performance on Friday and that all seemed to be forgotten about.

Darron Gibson of Sunderland (Image: Sunderland AFC)

“I’ve been in positions where players have made mistakes before and the players are the ones who will get him out of it - if that unity is there.

“I’m not saying the players he slagged off will but the core of the squad will try and get him back on track.

“There will be a bit of rib-tickling for a while but they will get him back on target to deliver because he is certainly a player who should really stand out in the Championship if he is fit and his head is right.”